


Victim 37

by Kar98k



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: "Child 44" AU, Adult Themes, Alternate Universe - Detectives, F/M, Murder Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Violence against Children, based on a novel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-23 14:15:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11991525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kar98k/pseuds/Kar98k
Summary: As a child is found brutally murdered in sunny Los Angeles, detectives Peggy Carter and Daniel Sousa do not anticipate how the case will pit them against a deranged serial killer seemingly hiding in plain sight.





	Victim 37

**Author's Note:**

> The plot will be loosely based on the events from the book "Child 44" by Tom Rob Smith.  
> Sorry for any grammar mistakes, English is not my first language. Also, unbetaed.  
> Kudos, comments and constructive criticism greatly appreciated!

_**Los Angeles, Summer** **1949** _

Daniel hated hospitals.

The realization came to him the first time he had to visit one about a year after losing his leg, after catching a quite nasty bug that resulted in a bad pneumonia while he was still in New York. He didn’t fully know what it was - the smell of disinfectant, the sight of other sick people or something completely different - but the atmosphere of the place overwhelmed him quickly, sending his thoughts racing back to the hellish first months after his injury. With time, that feeling diminished, but it didn’t disappear completely - even just walking or driving next to a hospital did fill him with a sense of dread and tension.

The fact that he was now one of the detectives in the LAPD meant, however, that visiting morgues became something of a semi-regular occurrence.

“Still dreading hospitals?”

Peggy’s voice broke him out of the slight trance he found himself in. He looked to the side, confirming Peggy was still slightly in front of him.

“It’s one of the things I will never probably get used to.” He replied, speeding up slightly to match her pace. The click of his own crutch and her heels on the tile floor echoed in the corridor. “Although I will take a nice, warm hospital bed over a cold stretcher in Belgium any day of the year.”

“Understandable.” Peggy spoke, turning her head to the side to look at him. “I’m not a big fan of hospitals myself, if I’m honest.” 

“Can’t blame you.” He replied, remembering the scars on her shoulder, as the approached the door to the morgue. Peggy went first, pushing the handle and holding the door for Daniel to pass. After that, they both moved to the reception desk.

“Detectives Peggy Carter and Daniel Sousa, LAPD.” Peggy spoke, displaying the badge she dug out of her coat’s pocket. Daniel followed suit.

“Oh yes, Doctor Stark is waiting for you. Exam Room 4.” The nurse behind the desk pointed at the door to the left of the reception area.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Daniel replied, turning away from the desk towards the room. Soon, they found themselves inside - their attention immediately moved to the metal slab in the middle. Laid out on top of it was a crisp, white sheet, the outline of the shape of the body clearly visible. While after nearly two years of being a homicide detective the view was familiar to both Peggy and Daniel, it didn’t stop the goosebumps creeping up.

“Peg, Sousa,” a voice broke the silence as Doctor Howard Stark, the resident coroner and pathologist and a friend of the pair (although his antics did mean that Peggy was sometimes thinking about reconsidering that friendship - but, almost always, decided against it) moved into the room from the office adjoined to it. “Glad you’re here.”

The tone of Howard’s greeting surprised Daniel - for Howard it was unusually stiff and devoid of any humor. While Howard did take his job seriously (or so it looked like, at least), he never missed a chance for a joke or a double entendre (especially ever since The Big Kiss - as Daniel called it - and his relationship with Peggy progressing from “just being friends at work” to dating and moving to a more personal relationship).

A serious Howard usually spelled trouble.

“What is it, Howard?” Peggy asked, moving closer to the slab. “Your moustache seems to be at least ten times sadder since I last saw you,”

“The LAPD patrol found the body yesterday, just around midnight.” Howard replied, seeming not to notice the remark. “Since they found it next to the train tracks, they thought it was just an accident…”. While barely audible, Peggy did hear an “Idiots!” thrown in at the end. Just from that one sentence she knew something was serious.

“Who were they?” Daniel asked, curious if he knew them personally.

“Didn’t really catch that detail.” Howard replied, his tone relaxing a little. “But if you look for the report of a body of a John Doe being found near the railway line, you’ll have your people.”

“We’ll make sure of that later.” Peggy replied, not wishing to stay in the morgue any longer than it was necessary. “We’d like to see what the fuss is about.”

“It’s far more than just ‘fuss’, Peg.” Howard replied, the serious tone back in his voice. “To be honest, I don’t know if I ever saw anything that horrible here.”

Daniel and Peggy looked at each other. Hearing Howard speaking seriously about something was a feat in and of itself, but the last statement really made their blood run cold.

“Ready?”

Both detectives nodded, preparing themselves mentally for what was about to transpire.

Seeing the nod, Howard grabbed the edge of the sheet and pulled it back slightly, enough to uncover the face of the victim.

“Shit.” Daniel swore. It was a child - a young boy by the look of his hair and face. The dark hair was a bit unkempt and kept short, contrasting against the pale white skin.

“How old?” Peggy asked, her lips pursed into a thin line.

“Judging by the teeth - 9 or 10. Can’t tell you exactly unless I see a birth certificate.” Howard replied, hands crossed. “He was found like this, by the way. No clothes.”

“First sign of possible foul play.” Daniel said, gripping his crutch harder.

“There’s more, Sousa.” Howard replied, moving to the corner of the room. “Much more.”

He came back to the slab pushing a small trolley, a brown paper bag put on top. He stopped the trolley right next to the slab. He then tipped the bag, the contents falling onto the table. They looked like little clumps of sand and a few stones.

“I found this in his mouth.” Howard said, circling his finger. “Until I’ve done a full autopsy I won’t be sure, but I can bet there’s more in the throat.”

“Is that sand?” Peggy asked, looking at the little clumps.

“Most definitely.” Howard answered.

“Boy probably got attacked, started screaming, killer grabs a handful of sand and shoves it in his mouth.” Peggy continued, looking up at Daniel.

“Sound theory.” he concluded, turning to look at Stark. “But some soil in a mouth of the deceased wasn't the only cause for concern, was it?”

Instead of answering, Howard pulled the sheet down further.

“Jesus Christ.”

The torso of the boy looked like it was actually mauled by a train. Daniel could feel blood draining from his face - he turned to Peggy, noticing how her complexion grew paler and paler.

“Oh God.” she gasped, taking a step back. Howard remained silent, simply looking into the wall behind them. Recovering from the shock took a moment, but soon Peggy asked:

“What happened?”

“Cause of death was blood loss from excessive stab wounds to the chest.” Howard replied, trying to keep his tone neutral. “I didn’t count how many exactly, but 30 would be lowballing it.” 

“Murder weapon?” Peggy inquired. “What do you think?”

“The cuts went deep, so a pocket knife is out of the question.” Howard replied, pointing his finger at the numerous wounds. “They are also too narrow for something big - no sword or machete. I’d say something like a bayonet fits the profile, but that’s just guesswork.”

“For now, this will have to do.” Daniel spoke, feeling his stomach lurch as he looked at the abdomen, cut completely open. “How about this?”

“The evisceration was done post mortem.” Howard replied, planting his hand on the edge of the slab. “There’s also one more thing.”

“I don’t like the sound of that, but what is it?” Peggy asked.

“The kid is also missing a liver.”

“A liver?” Daniel asked, only noting afterwards how ridiculously high-pitched his voice sounded.

“Yes. Don’t ask me why, I’m not the monster who cut him up.” Howard said, putting his hand up. “I looked at it closer and the cut looked very clean. Professional, even.”

“You’re saying the killer might be a surgeon?” Daniel asked, curious.

“Maybe.” Howard replied. “Surgeon, butcher, former GI. Might even be your average Joe with some cooking experience. Can’t say for sure.”

“Regardless of who this is, this monster is still out there.” Peggy retorted, turning to Daniel. “At large.

“And if no one stops him, more kids can die.” Daniel replied.

“That’s why I called you up.” Howard remarked. “If there’s anyone who can catch that beast, it’s you two.”

“Flattery might get you far, Howard.” Peggy said, moving towards the door. “We’ll need that autopsy report on our desks as soon as possible. Before I ring the bell I would love to have a leg to stand on.”

“Will do.” Howard said, moving to his office. “Happy hunting.”

* * *

As they stepped out of the building, they noticed how the temperature rose at least a few degrees during the time they were inside. The sun peeked out a lone cloud, making the early afternoon heat even more unbearable. The chill of the basement caused Daniel to put on his coat, which he now swiftly took back off, still waking towards their car.

Back in the car, Daniel felt the dread setting in. He was used to seeing dead bodies - the war and the later work in the police was the main culprit of that particularity - but somehow seeing a dead child hit him far more severely than any other death he had seen. His mind wandered back to his own childhood - how his father always lectured him on not fully trusting every stranger you met on the street and his police training on always keeping his guard up.

“That was positively horrifying.” Peggy spoke, breaking the silence clouding them ever since they left the morgue as she started the engine. “Makes me want to just shoot the bastard in the head when I see him.”

“Me too.” Daniel replied, settling into the ride. “But first, we have to catch him. Plan?”

“First things first,” Peggy spoke, “we need to check the Missing Persons inquiries. I’d say for at least the last 48 hours. We need to identify the boy and talk to the family. See what he was doing before he died.”

“I’ll look for the report form the beat cops that found the body.” Daniel said. “We need to see where he was found, in what state and so on. After that, we may have a witness, maybe.”

“Hopefully.” Peggy replied. “Although…”, she paused, biting her lip.

“What is it?” Daniel asked, turning his head to meet her gaze.

“I already feel we’re missing something.” she spoke, exhaling loudly. “But I can’t put a finger on what it is, exactly.”

“We’re missing pretty much everything right now,” he spoke, suddenly grabbing her hand and squeezing it. “But we’re a great team…”

“A wonderful team.” she chimed in, a slight smile crawling it’s way onto her lips.

“... so we’ll manage. And we’ll catch the bastard.”

Peggy squeezed her hand before pulling it back, breaking contact. Focusing back on the road, she drove on, towards the station

_ Let’s hope we catch him _ . She thought.  _ Because I have a feeling this won’t be easy. _


End file.
